Cutia Therapeutics, a publicly traded Chinese company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and specializing in R&D and marketing of therapeutic solutions in dermatology, has made a strategic investment of €2 million in the Or Yehuda-based start-up Hairstetics, which developed a pioneering, award-winning, and patented technology for injecting synthetic hair that addresses hair loss among women.
To date, Hairstetics has raised $17 million from Peregrine Ventures and two European investors: Gilles Bos and Silvia Scherer, who specialize in the aesthetics field.
Cutia Therapeutics, headquartered in Shanghai, specializes in scalp and skin diseases, hair loss treatment, localized fat management, and local anesthesia. Under the agreement, Cutia acquired marketing rights for the solution for an initial amount of €2 million. The Chinese company is expected to invest additional sums according to milestone achievements and royalties.
The commercial potential of Hairstetics in China is significant. According to Insights10 research, the hair loss treatment market in China was valued at approximately $660 million in 2022 and is expected to reach $1.31 billion by 2030, with an average annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9% during this period. Initially, the company's solution will be marketed in Hainan Province, and later in Hong Kong and across China once regulatory approvals are obtained.
Hairstetics holds CE certification, and the technology is already marketed in France and Israel, where the procedure is offered by Clalit Aesthetics, Dr. Lahavit Akerman Clinics, and other private clinics.
Hairstetics was founded by two entrepreneurs specialized in developing medical equipment for the surgical and cardiology sectors: Boaz Shenhav, Head of Business Development, and Dvir Keren, CTO, a world-renowned expert in surgical nitinol-based solutions who has registered 50 international patents.
The company’s CEO is Oren Naaman, who brings over 20 years of managerial experience in global business development and sales management. His previous roles include Global Direct Sales VP at Alma Lasers and Sales Manager at the NFM Group.
Hairstetics’ fem-tech solution addresses female hair loss (alopecia) in an innovative way, which causes thinning and hair loss due to damage to hair follicles. About 12% of women by age 20 suffer from this condition, and it affects 50% of women by age 80.
The phenomenon has severe psychological and social implications, impacting the quality of life of hundreds of millions of women worldwide. Many women cover bald spots with various products, and many turn to hair transplants—a method unsuitable for the vast majority, far more invasive, and requiring a long time to achieve a desired aesthetic result.
Hairstetics developed a cartridge with 12 needles at its tip, each injecting a synthetic hair implant into the patient’s scalp. The treating physician administers local anesthesia, positions the cartridge on the scalp, and in seconds implants 12 hairs, each 40 cm long, in the treated area.
The hair fiber is made of nylon with high biocompatibility, similar to surgical sutures. The implant is anchored in the scalp using a 200-micron stent whose wings open at a depth of 5 mm after insertion, providing anchoring 2.5 times stronger than natural hair.
The stent is made from nitinol—a flexible, strong nickel-titanium alloy used in manufacturing cardiac stents. Within less than an hour, the physician injects 400 to 1,000 synthetic hairs, providing full coverage of bald areas. The technology allows control over hair direction and styling to cover all exposed areas with a relatively small number of injections. The treatment is fast, easy, and safe, with minimal pain, and provides an immediate aesthetic result. The procedure can be repeated to maintain the aesthetic outcome over time.
Oren Naaman, CEO of Hairstetics: “The agreement with Cutia Therapeutics is a significant breakthrough in one of our largest target markets, with the potential to treat hundreds of millions of Chinese women suffering from hair loss in many markets worldwide. Our R&D team, led by CTO Dvir Keren, is the first in the world to implement mini-stent technology in this mass-consumption market, offering patients all the benefits of the high biocompatibility of cardiology stents in hair injection.”
Naaman adds: “The medical hair restoration market is currently valued at $7.5 billion (according to research by Mordor Intelligence) and is expected to grow to approximately $11.5 billion by 2030. We are proud of our position as a leading fem-tech company and confident that our technology will capture a significant share of this growing market, helping to address the struggles of half the women in the world suffering from hair loss and the associated psychological and social damages, which until now had no real solution.”
Hairstetics’ technology has won two prestigious international awards: the IMCAS Innovation Award in 2021 (Dermatology, Aesthetics, and Plastic Surgery Conference) and the IROSH Innovation Award in 2024 (French Hair Transplant Conference).
For more information about Hairstetics: https://hairstetics.com/he